Suspicious person prowling Greene

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree, smcdaniel@myjournalcourier.com

Published
12:37 pm CDT, Monday, April 9, 2018

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Suspicious person prowling Greene

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GREENFIELD — Greene County law enforcement officials are asking for the public’s help after reports of a man in a white pickup truck exhibiting suspicious behavior, including approaching rural homes and honking his truck horn at children.

The Greenfield School District sent out a message to parents this week, asking them to take precautions and report anything suspicious after school officials heard several stories about the truck.

Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen said the department has received two reports this week of a man in an older model white Ford pickup truck in Greenfield and Rockbridge. The driver was described as having longer gray hair.

“He was showing some suspicious behavior and we are looking for help in identifying the subject and seeing what he is up to,” McMillen said.

McMillen said each incident was reported between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The first incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in Rockbridge, where a school-age girl reported that the man was driving slowly by her while she was on her way home.

After the girl got inside her house, she heard honking, looked out the window and saw the truck parked at the end of her driveway, McMillen said.

The second incident happened Wednesday, when a homeowner north of Greenfield reported the truck driving up the homeowner’s driveway.

When the truck got close enough to the house to see that people were home, the driver backed up and left the area, McMillen said.

“We don’t know what he was doing, but we need to find out,” McMillen said.

Greenfield school officials told parents about the situation and asked that they keep alert for suspicious behavior.

Superintendent Kevin Bowman said neither incident took place at a school, but they wanted people to be aware of the situation.

“Safety is our top priority,” Bowman said. “We are a small community, and this is something parents would want to know.”

McMillen is asking anyone who sees the truck to report the sighting.

“If someone can safely get a license plate, it would help us in locating the vehicle, but we do not want anyone getting into an unsafe situation,” he said.

It is important for parents to talk to their children about taking precautions around strangers and strange vehicles, including reminding them not to approach strange people or vehicles and refusing to open the door to a stranger, McMillen said.

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.